Smallholder participation in vegetable exports and age‐disaggregated labor allocation in Northern Tanzania

Modern agricultural supply chains have been playing an increasingly important role in developing countries and have had significant effects on rural labor markets. This article analyses the effects of smallholder farmer participation in export vegetable supply chains in Northern Tanzania on both household hired labor demand and off‐farm labor supply, using an age‐disaggregated approach. In our sample, neither separability nor exogeneity of smallholder farmer participation in export supply chains can be rejected. Hence, we apply lognormal double‐hurdle models and find that participation in export supply chains positively affects households’ decision to hire labor from all age groups. We also find that it increases the unconditional overall level of hired labor demand, while the age‐disaggregated analysis shows that these effects mostly benefit rural youth. However, our sample does not allow us to establish statistically significant evidence of an effect on household off‐farm labor supply although the point estimates point to nonnegligible positive effect sizes.     

A supply‐side analysis of agritourism: Evidence from farm‐level agriculture census data in Taiwan

Due to consumers’ increased demand for leisure and farmers’ need for income diversification, researchers and policymakers have significant interest in topics related to agritourism. This study provides a supply‐side analysis on agritourism using Taiwan as a case study. Utilising a sample of 720,148 family farms from the 2010 agriculture census survey in Taiwan, we quantify the effects of engaging in the agritourism business on farm income, on farm succession, and on family members’ labour supply decisions between on‐farm and off‐farm work. An analytical framework that combines the doubly robustness regression model and semiparametric estimation is proposed to address the endogeneity bias. Results indicate that participation in agritourism increases farm income and family farm succession. Farms engaging in agritourism also have more family members working on the farm, and fewer family members working off‐farm, compared to farms not engaging in agritourism. Although agritourism enterprises are developed to meet consumers’ demand for leisure, our results show that they also improve the economic welfare of farm households.     

AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: ESTIMATES OF INCOME AND PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY

This paper provides new evidence on income and price elasticities of demand and supply of agricultural exports from developing countries, on the basis of (a) a consistent and fully specified supply and demand model, and (b) statistical estimation procedures not frequently used in the estimation of agricultural export functions. Estimates of price and income elasticities of demand for aggregate agricultural exports for all developing countries taken together — as distinct from individual exporting countries — are found to be low; moreover, export price as distinguished from non-price factors plays a relatively insignificant role in increasing export supply. Hence, an attempt by all developing countries to expand traditional agricultural exports with low price elasticity of demand may not yield rising earnings for all; but in fact may result in falling export revenues. Insofar as individual exports of all developing countries (not individual countries) are concerned, income and price elasticities of demand for such tropical commodities as tea, coffee, cocoa and bananas are also found to be low, except for new, non-traditional exports like pineapples. This indicates the importance of diversification of agricultural exports as a vehicle for their future growth.     

Is There an Image Crisis in the Spanish Vegetables?

Abstract

The Spanish horticultural sector has been adversely affected by recurring crises in the last years, showing a significant economic impact upon demand. These crises have different sources (internal and external) and origins (food safety, social, and environmental issues). However, research devoted to analyzing the nature and scope of these events and their influence on consumers’ perception is scarce. For this purpose, this research provides a conceptual framework that defines and classifies the main image crises that have affected the sector. Consequently, an exploratory study is conducted to analyze to what extent European consumers know the sector and to determine how consumer knowledge influences the Spanish product-country image. Data were analyzed using a Logit Model. Results suggest that crises have seriously affected the demand of Spanish vegetables and consumers’ perceived image. Factors affecting the sector’s image through consumer knowledge are different depending on consumers’ country-of-origin (national vs. foreign countries).     

The Potential for Nitrogen Abatement Trading in Agriculture: A Hypothetical Market Experiment

The effectiveness of nitrogen abatement trading as a policy measure relies on both heterogeneity in costs and environmental effectiveness across landscapes. Cost‐efficient implementation may therefore critically depend on spatial distributions of farm and farmer characteristics in water catchments. We use a spatially specific hypothetical market experiment to analyse the likelihood of farmers’ enrolment into nitrogen abatement trading contracts, and derive demand and supply functions for farmers’ nitrogen abatement. We find that farm characteristics influence both the decision whether to supply or purchase nitrogen abatement, as well as the amounts being traded. The derived demand and supply functions for farmers’ N abatement, using hypothetical market experiment data, can be used to reveal the variability in costs of abatement within a market. This provides valuable information to test potential trading schemes ex ante, to evaluate potential economic gains from policy implementation.     

The future of Russia’s agriculture and food industry between global opportunities and technological restrictions

This paper reports on the result of a major foresight exercise commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation on the prospective developments of the agriculture and food industry up to the year 2030. The exercise identified economic, technological, social and ecological trends that will greatly influence both supply and demand in the industry. The findings provide a decision base for policy-makers to improve the technology base and to ease the reliance on technology imports. The country’s agricultural producers have been struggling with the introduction of new technologies, and customers are showing conservative demand patterns. Previous research showed that technology transfer into Russian agricultural enterprises suffers from a low knowledge level especially in receiving organizations. The country’s own S&T system requires support both for technology development and technology transfer, especially for breeding of best-suited plants and animals for local circumstances. Furthermore, consumer behaviour could be influenced towards higher demand, for example, organic food or ethical husbandry.     

Adoption of climate‐smart practices and its impact on farm performance and risk exposure among smallholder farmers in Ghana

Increased climate variability during the last four decades has made the agricultural environment in many developing countries more uncertain, resulting in increasing exposure to risk when producing crops. In this study, we use recent farm‐level data from Ghana to examine the drivers of individual and joint adoption of crop choice and soil and water conservation practices, and how adoption of these practices impacts on farm performance (crop revenue) and exposure to risks (skewness of crop yield). We employ a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to account for selectivity bias due to both observable and unobservable factors. The empirical results reveal that farmers’ adoption of crop choice and soil and water conservation leads to higher crop revenues and reduced riskiness in crop production, with the largest impact on crop revenues coming from joint adoption. The findings also show that education of the household head, access to extension and weather information influence the likelihood of adopting these practices. Thus, enhancing extension services and access to climate information and irrigation can reduce gaps in adoption of soil and water conservation and crop choice, considered as climate‐smart practices that will eventually improve crop revenues and reduce farmers’ exposure to climate‐related production risks.     

Food quality in domestic markets of developing economies: a comparative study of two countries

Food quality has become an important determinant of success in global food trade and growers for international markets have to continuously adjust to buyers’ requirements. It is, however, not clear to what extent there is a demand for food quality—and how much buyers are willing to pay for it—in domestic food markets of developing economies. Based on unique comparable price and trader data in a poor country in Africa (Madagascar) and an emerging economy in Asia (India), we compare food quality and quality's pricing. We find significantly better quality and higher quality premiums (using revealed as well as stated preference methods) in India than in Madagascar. These findings are consistent with a simple theoretical model, solely based on average income gaps between the two countries.     

食用型野生动物供需的影响因素分析

以经济学中的供求理论为基础,首先从价格、收入水平和消费者偏好等因素对食用型野生动物的市场需求特征进行了分析,研究表明食用型野生动物产品的价格及人们的收入水平是影响大众对其消费欲望的最主要因素;其次,从商品价格、生产者预期、养殖技术、养殖成本、政府政策和气候条件等因素分析了食用型野生动物的市场供给特征,研究表明养殖技术、养殖成本和政府政策是制约食用型野生动物产品供给最为重要的三大影响因素;从供需两个角度看,气候条件的变化、较好的生产者预期和对野生动物产品的偏好等因素一定程度上也影响了食用型野生动物养殖业的顺利发展;然后,运用AD-AS模型对食用型野生动物养殖业的市场发展潜力进行分析;最后提出相应的政策建议。     

高水平开放下我国粮食安全的非传统挑战及政策转型

当前我国粮食安全已经迈入新的发展阶段,一方面国内的粮食安全保障程度处于历史最佳时期,另一方面农业对外开放也处于全球领先水平,国际粮食市场日益成为保障国内粮食供应的重要组成部分,但同时也为维护国家粮食安全带来了一系列前所未有的非传统压力和挑战,包括以高产量、高进口、高库存为代表的过度进口冲击粮食自给率的“想挡挡不住”、粮食生产国内支持政策与WTO国际规则存在一致性纷争的“想做不能做”、世界市场风险与贸易动荡加剧国际粮源不确定性的“想进有风险”,以及在全球粮食安全治理体系中的作用仍待加强的“想为难作为”。在新一轮高水平开放下,亟需转型思维、构建“三元平衡”的开放型国家粮食安全战略保障体系,积极推动我国粮食安全目标由产量导向向竞争力导向转型,农业国内支持政策设计由国内外分轨向内外对接转型,外部粮食市场与资源利用由单方自主开合向主动风险管控转型,主动参与全球粮食安全治理与制度变革,全面升级对内与对外的粮食安全治理能力。     

海外矿产资源勘查税收优惠制度研究

我国矿产资源总量丰富,但人均占有量少,贫矿多,矿产资源供给不足,资源浪费和环境污染普遍存在。而矿产资源在一定程度上决定了我国可持续发展能力。在此形势下,我国应该充分利用好两个市场、两种资源,大力鼓励矿业企业"走出去"进行矿产资源勘查,建立海外矿产资源储备基地和生产基地。海外矿产资源勘查税收优惠政策对鼓励矿产企业进行海外勘查开发具有必要性和可行性。我国应借鉴美国、日本、加拿大等国家在海外矿产资源矿产勘查税收优惠方面的政策和取得的成果,制定若干适用于中国国情和符合国际惯例的海外矿产资源矿产税收优惠政策,力求通过有效的税收优惠政策来激励我国企业去海外勘查开发矿产资源。     

Exploring the landscape of wind farm developments; local area characteristics and planning process outcomes in rural England

Despite broad public support for wind energy in principle, windfarm developments are often met with local opposition. There is theoretical, case-based and anecdotal evidence to suggest that ‘the local’ is relevant for planning process outcomes, but the nature and extent of this relevance is not so clear. We embark on an initial exploration of local factors that, on aggregate, may be of relevance to planning outcomes of proposed windfarms in rural England. Applying a broad scanning approach we use an existing small area GIS dataset of 117 variables related to education, health, demography, employment and housing. We identify a number of strong associations, and discuss to what extent these make sense in the light of existing literature on environmental equity and social capital, or throw up questions for further study. Notwithstanding the methodological caveats of this explorative study, and the scope for more in-depth analysis, our findings suggests that beyond the myriad of individual planning cases, the emerging landscape of wind energy development in England is markedly uneven, and sometimes inequitable. Evidence of the latter emerges notably through the strong significance of local democratic deficit (i.e. low voter turn-out) as a predictor of a ‘positive’ planning outcome for windfarms and the further strengthening of predictive associations at the appeal stage.     

消费者对茶油的价值认知实证研究——基于福州消费者的调查

消费者对茶油价值认知不足产生的信息不对称使得茶油市场失灵,潜在的市场需求无法转变为实际的市场需求。调查统计表明,消费者对茶油具有较好的知名度,但却只有较低的价值认知度。影响消费者对茶油价值认知的主要因素包括消费者的性别、学历、收入水平和对健康的关注程度。对茶油价值的认知不再依赖于通过直接的生产地接触获取,也不依赖于经常购买日常食品。根据实证分析可以预测,对茶油价值认知度高的消费者将越来越多,需要通过不断消除居民的性别偏好意识、促进教育资源的平等分配,降低接受高等教育的门槛、促进收入合理分配和不断提高居民对健康的关注水平来促进消费者对茶油价值的认知。     

农业信息社会化服务结构性失衡的影响因素分析

随着中国国内市场经济的发展,农业愈来愈迫切需要市场信息的扶持.文章以新疆10个县28个乡为调查研究区域,使用二元logistic模型从户主特征、家庭特征、地区经济发展水平和其他特征研究影响农业信息服务内容供求结构性失衡的因素.研究表明:不同经济发展水平的地区信息内容失衡程度差异显著,经济发展水平越高,对降低农户所需要的农产品价格、供求方面的信息失衡有显著影响;汉族、年龄大、受教育程度高和家庭社会关系越多,对降低信息服务内容失衡有显著影响;手机、联网电脑等新兴媒介对降低农户信息服务失衡无显著影响,而传统媒介电视仍在农户搜集信息方面起到重要作用,但作用有限,合作社和农民信息协会在失衡影响因素中表现并不显著,这表明现有信息服务体系仍不健全,政府应根据农户特殊需求建立有效的信息服务平台,并提供更加完善的服务.通过分析发现:政府需要在欠发达和不发达地区加大信息供给强度,引导信息服务市场化;完善农户信息需求表达机制,针对农户的需要提供真实有效的信息;丰富服务方式,完善手机、电视、网络等平台为农户提供信息;完善农村信息供给渠道,增强合作社、农民信息协会提供信息服务的功能等建议.     

Estimating the mediating effect of privately-supplied green space on the relationship between urban public green space and property value: Evidence from Shanghai,China

Much of the housing in China’s cities built since the opening up of housing markets in the 1990s is organized in residential clubs, with neighbourhood civic goods and services constructed by private developers, financed by residents’ fees, managed by property-management companies and governed by resident associations. This means that there are now three important types of green space in Chinese cities: public green space (open-access parks), private green space (gardens, exclusive to a private home) and club green space (greenery exclusive to fee-paying estate residents). We ask a simple but profound question: how does this three-fold green space morphology and economy influence housing prices and, by implication, locational preferences in the city? More specifically, we test the hypothesis that the privately supplied green spaces withing club-communities substitute for publicly supplied green spaces in the public realm. We find evidence in support of this hypothesis, showing for example, that unlike other kinds of green space, public district parks have no measurable use value to Shanghai home-buyers, using a hedonic valuation model. If urban planners in China understood that their cities have become ‘cities of clubs’, then they would plan open space differently and scarce public funds could be redirected to other public goods and services with measurable demand.     

Sustainable agricultural practices,environmental risk mitigation and livelihood improvements: Empirical evidence from Northern Ethiopia

Using sustainable agriculture practices has various economic, social and environmental benefits. Determining the attitude of farmers toward risk is an important first step in understanding their behaviour and coping strategies to mitigate environmental risks. This paper investigates the dual impacts of some agricultural practices on agricultural yields and farmers’ livelihoods considering sustainable farmland. Cross-sectional data is collected from farmers in six rural villages in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia using structured questionnaires. Results show that education, labour supply, agricultural extension services, attitudes, social capital, risk mitigation attitudes, farming experience and soil conditions are factors that significantly affect farmers’ decisions to adopt these practices. The practices are adopted either in isolation or jointly of integrated sustainable practices that increase crop production, household income and asset. Therefore, government and other development actors should promote their adoptions especially in drought-prone, degraded and water-stressed areas     

The effects of land sales restrictions: evidence from south India

The effects of land sales restrictions on credit use, land investment and cultivation decisions are investigated using data from two villages in south India. Sales restrictions are found to have little ellect on credit supply and demand or demand tor land improvements. Some household characteristics are found to affect investment demand on plots subject to sales restrictions in one village, suggesting that the ‘transactions effect’ of such restrictions may be inhibiting allocative efficiency. However, we also find that household characteristics influence investment on titled plots, and that the magnitude of impact of such characteristics is greater on titled plots. These results imply that sales restrictions are not a major source of inelficiency in the villages studied, and suggest that the nature of village credit and land markets and enforcement ot sales restrictions are critical determinants of the impacts of such restrictions.     

Effect of information formats on information services: analysis of four selected agricultural commodities in the USA

We analyze sources of information in agricultural markets to understand patterns of demand for decision support services and the division of labor in the supply of these services. Information formatting—qualitative variation that determines accessibility and relevance of information in specific contexts—prohibits universal access to informational content. Information formats give rise to both transaction costs and complementarities reflected in patterns of information exchange in commodity systems. Controlling for actors' structural roles and levels of education, we develop a hedonic model of information demand such that actors seek information that is formatted to meet their needs and capabilities. Employing survey data, we explain elements of observed patterns of information exchange in four commodity systems in the USA. Results point to opportunities to expand our understanding of socioeconomic processes underlying production and consumption of decision support.     

Decompositions of corn price effects: implications for feed grain demand and livestock supply

This article examines how corn prices affect the demand for feed grains and the supply of livestock outputs. The differential approach to the theory of the multiproduct firm is employed to examine ex ante decisions about feed grain demand and livestock supply. The estimation results suggest that livestock producers have little flexibility in adjusting the demand for corn in response to an increase in corn prices. The substitutable relationship between corn and distillers’ grains contributes to alleviating pressures on feed costs in response to high corn prices. In addition, the estimation results highlight that the composition of livestock supply can be altered by changes in livestock prices. On the basis of the estimated elasticities, the decompositions of profit‐maximizing input demand are conducted to examine the effects of changes in corn prices on feed grain demand and livestock supply. The decomposition results reveal that an increase in corn prices reduces corn demand but raises the demand for distillers’ grains mainly due to the substitution effects of corn price changes. The decomposition results also show that an increase in the price of corn reduces cattle supply but raises the supply of chicken and pork due to the output relationships in supply.     

School completion in urban Latin America: the voices of young people from an informal settlement

Despite progress in improving secondary school completion in Latin America, a high proportion of young people from urban marginalised neighbourhoods continue to drop out. On the basis of in-depth interviews with young people in an informal settlement of the City of Buenos Aires, the paper aims to broaden the understanding of the processes that lead to school dropout in these neighbourhoods. It does so by examining what young people value being and doing, and how they interpret the value of secondary school in their own lives and contexts. The results point to the critical importance of the family in young peoples’ processes of reasoning and decision-making, the complex interaction between capabilities, and the benefits of schools that provide social and emotional support to students and families. The paper argues that listening to the voices of young people can give significant insights for the design of policies to close the gap in education outcomes in segregated urban contexts.